# Wet Smoke: Ongoing Problem



## imperial Stout (Nov 21, 2008)

I've got this boswell I bought several months back. My first "real" pipe. Aside from not being able to get a pipe cleaner through to the bowl without disassembling the pipe I also have a severe problem of everything smoking wet.

After smoking it I would let it air out for up to a week before smoking it again. When I first got the pipe I was advised that it wasn't necessary to break it in since it was pre-carb'd. Well, I got sick of it being wet all the time so I thought I would start over, so to speak, and do a good cleaning of the bowl via stuffing it with cottonballs and adding some vodka to it. After about 12 hours I then proceeded to clean the bowl with pipe cleaners best I could (those little red-plastic bristled ones). I then noticed that there wasn't a cake at all towards the bottom - probably because this thing always smokes so wet. I thought I would now start breaking her in again but this time the right way. Well, loaded up a less than a half bowl and after several minutes... GURGLE!

I'm kinda ticked off not knowing is it me? Is it the pipe? I stopped smoking, dumped the tobacco, dried it out with a kleenex and then loaded it with like an 1/8 of a bowl and smoked it down w/o a problem... Should I just keep on smoking teeny tiny bowls to slowly develop a cake from the bottom up and increasing amounts as it forms? Or what else can I do?

I read somewhere about powdering the ash and adding honey and coating the bottom of the bowl with this mixture which will harden then continue breaking it in as normal. Is this recommended?

I don't have any such problems with my cobs....

Thanks for your suggestions.


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## RJpuffs (Jan 27, 2008)

A gurgle AND not taking a pipe cleaner thru (straight/partially bent) would point to bad drilling/alignment.

Remove the mouthpiece and blow thru it, one end at a time. Does one or both sides give a "whistle"? If so, there may be a constriction in the stem/bit airway.

Eyeball the open shank, you will see the airhole that goes into the bottom of the bowl. Does light shine thru it, i.e. no obstructions? Measure the space between the airway and where the end of tenon would reach. Too much open space there will result in condensation (gurgle). Misalignment could also do the same, the pipe cleaner test kinda confirms this.

Not much you can do but try to repair whichever drilling is screwed up - break out the cordless drill and a box of bits :tu
Just remember to turn the drill chuck BY HAND, not on power!


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## WWhermit (Nov 30, 2008)

A couple questions if you don't mind...

1) How long have you been smoking pipes?
2) What type of tobacco are you smoking?
3) You say you don't have that problem with cobs. Do your cobs have filters?

The reason why I ask is because that was my main problem when learning how to properly smoke a pipe. A wet smoke is mainly due to moisture level of tobacco, and puffing too aggressively.

It won't happen as much with cobs if you have a cob with a filter, because most of the moisture is absorbed with a paper filter. I have a Boswell, and is smokes pretty well. 

Aromatics have a higher moisture content, thus more chance of gurgle. Try drying the tobacco a bit on a paper plate, say for an hour. Could be that simple.

Or, I could be totally off and it could be bad drilling, although JM Boswell and son make 100% of their pipes by hand, and have been doing so for almost 30 years. You can always call them, they give a 100% guarantee to fix any problems. I'd rule out any other possibilities first though.

WWhermit


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

WWhermit said:


> ...2) What type of tobacco are you smoking?
> 
> WWhermit


yeah. what he asked. and where do you buy it? and how exactly do you dry your tobacco with kleenex? (i did a search of this forum for the word "kleenex" and this is the only place it appears. have you a new technique?) and i think you might oughta not be dumping honey into your new boz any time soon.


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## imperial Stout (Nov 21, 2008)

To answer questions:

1) smoking pipes for 6 months
2) smoking non-aromatics, mostly va's va/pers and english blends/balkans
3) I don't use filters in my cobs.

The latest episode happened today while smoking escudo in my boswell. Tobacco was well dried. Just got done smoking a whole bowl with the same escudo in a cob; no problem whatsoever.

To clarify with the kleenex; I dried the inside of the pipe with a tissue not the tobacco. After the gurgle I dumped the bowl; let a tissue soak up the moisture then loaded 1/8 bowl with no problems with that small of amount.

Now bear with a newby here since I may get some terminology all wrong but I think there is something up with the drill holes. If I remove the bit the first hole I see is the larger diameter hole where the bit goes.. with a smaller diameter hole leading into the bowl. From looking inside (and visible from the outside) it looks as if at least two attempts were made to get things to line up. The smaller hole was drilled into the larger hole at a different angle. I can probably take pictures as this is evident from even the outside since you can see a partial crescent shape overlapping the larger hole from the outside. If what I'm saying doesn't make sense I might be able to post pictures later.

I'm not questioning Boswell's craftsmanship as is evident by the fact of me even posting this and not calling Boswell direct. I'm a self proclaimed newby so I would assume I am the problem first before questioning a craftsman's work of art. :hn


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## wharfrathoss (Dec 27, 2006)

i'm guessing your pipe is a bent pipe by your description. if it's a 3/4 or full bent the drilling in the shank you describe is normal. matter of fact they have to be drilled this way unless they're drilled w/a curved bit (which costs more). have you tried putting a bend in the tip of the cleaner & try to "jiggle" it through?

also, how dry is your tobac? does it stick together then fluff up when you pinch it? i dry mine so it won't stick together at all & it works well for me.

has the tip of the tenon on the stem been countersunk or is it flat across? countersinking it will help to smooth the flow of air/smoke, reducing the moisture that comes out of it.

i'd hold off on taking a drill to it or adding some varient of a witch's brew to the bowl. i'll bet w/a few more ?'s & answers we can figure it out.


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## Quick_nick (Feb 10, 2008)

Last case scenario you could contact JM about the problem and get his recomendation. He may tell you to ship it back so he can look it over and possibly fix it. I don't know for sure but it may be worth a shot. Before you do that try to slow down a bit on your puffing.


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

If your pipe has a conical chamber (gets smaller toward the bottom) its easy to overtamp. Also does your airway enter the chamber flush with the bottom?


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## WWhermit (Nov 30, 2008)

Ya know, just to clarify a bit. The famed "I smoke down to a fine grey ash at the bottom" only comes with years and years of experience, and can't be done with all tobaccos.

I still get moisture in the bottom, and always have a pipe cleaner with me while I smoke. About 1/3 of the way through, quite often (because I smoke aromatics often) I'll get the gurgle. I also have mostly bent pipes. What I do is about 1/2 inch up the pipe cleaner I'll put about a 10 to 15 degree bend in it. I'll put it in through the lip. When I hit the spot where it won't go any further, but know it didn't reach bottom, turn the pipe cleaner about 45 degrees, gently try again. If it didn't go, do another 45 degrees, try again.

You'll get to know your pipes, and how much to bend the cleaner, and where the "sweet spot" is to where it will pass. When the gurgle comes, put the cleaner in and absorb it. I'll usually do it twice during the time it takes to smoke one pipe. This is not uncommon! It's a regular part of smoking, especially if you smoke a bit on the moister side.

Also, I've learned to slow down the puffing a bit.

Don't be timid about calling JM. He's a gentleman, and would probably rather have you call than not be completely satisfied with the pipe.

WWhermit


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## imperial Stout (Nov 21, 2008)

A lot of questions so I'll try to answer them all:

-Stem is countersunk
-Tobacco is well dried - does not stick together or clump at all
-Pipe is conical at bottom
-I try not to tamp unless absolutely neccessary ie. smoke is thinning and it's obvious pipe is going out.
-airhole is not flush with bottom of bowl but comes in at angle (see pic to see why)
-I've tried countless times to get a pipe cleaner in their, bending, twisting, pleading but to no avail. (update:WWhermit, I followed your advice on getting a pipe cleaner in their and it didn't work... but then I went crazy with the pipe cleaner while twisting the pipe 360 degrees and got one in there! For the first time ! Wohoo!)



Below is a picture of my pipe:


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## imperial Stout (Nov 21, 2008)

Thanks guys for your responses... please keep them coming - it gives you a chance to exercise your vast pipe knowledge on the newb!


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

If your airhole sits too high due to the angle its drilled at then my guess would be there's your problem. Mix some pipe mud from saliva and ash in the heal to raise it up a bit and let it dry good. If your next smoke is a better one then you know you're on the right track. Those drilling angles on bents really can be a problem.


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## andrew (Nov 16, 2008)

I had the same problem with my bent Boswell. I used the 'mud' trick and haven't had trouble since. I've also started giving my baccy plenty of time to dry out (expansion was my key problem there) and have been happy with her ever since. On another note, my pipe seemed to gurgle less when I held it level, don't know what/if that has any prevelance but just tossing it in there.


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## imperial Stout (Nov 21, 2008)

So regarding the 'mud trick' (looks like the honey method I mentioned at the beginning but w/ saliva instead of honey) would the diagram below be what we're aiming for? Filling in the green part with 'mud' essentially raising the bottom and getting it closer to the hole?


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## andrew (Nov 16, 2008)

Yes, but you want to be sure you don't obstruct the hole. No big deal if you do, I guess just carefully ream it out with you pipetool. (I did that exactly, works for me)


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

Yeah Imp I think it is like you said in your original post. IMO honey just makes things more difficult. It doesn't like to "cook" to the surface very well and has a habit of returning to the consistency of syrup for several after its used as the fix, sometimes moving toward the airway as it becomes moist and really causing a gurgle. Saliva and ash seems to bond to the surface in drying and with a little push here and there will compact to make it even more solid. The low heal problem which causes the smoke to swirl through your tobacco before leaving the chamber forces moisture in the smoke to condense and that is why your tobacco gets wet toward the bottom and also where you're getting the gurgle and the longer you're "enjoying" a bowl the worse it gets. Raising the heal to the level of the airway (as shown in your diagram) should clear up most of the problem. If you have a problem eyeballing the level of the airway you might insert a pipecleaner so you know how much mud to add. After doing that prop the pipe up in an ashtray or on a towel so it will dry in the position you want it and then give it a few days to dry.


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## imperial Stout (Nov 21, 2008)

Mad Hatter said:


> Yeah Imp I think it is like you said in your original post. IMO honey just makes things more difficult. It doesn't like to "cook" to the surface very well and has a habit of returning to the consistency of syrup for several after its used as the fix, sometimes moving toward the airway as it becomes moist and really causing a gurgle. Saliva and ash seems to bond to the surface in drying and with a little push here and there will compact to make it even more solid. The low heal problem which causes the smoke to swirl through your tobacco before leaving the chamber forces moisture in the smoke to condense and that is why your tobacco gets wet toward the bottom and also where you're getting the gurgle and the longer you're "enjoying" a bowl the worse it gets. Raising the heal to the level of the airway (as shown in your diagram) should clear up most of the problem. If you have a problem eyeballing the level of the airway you might insert a pipecleaner so you know how much mud to add. After doing that prop the pipe up in an ashtray or on a towel so it will dry in the position you want it and then give it a few days to dry.


"Yeah Imp" -- heh heh - should've known someone would abbreviate my name to IMP! 

I see what you're saying about the honey deal... thanks for the help!


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

imperial Stout said:


> "Yeah Imp" -- heh heh - should've known someone would abbreviate my name to IMP!


 Prefer "i-pout", soggy boy?


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## imperial Stout (Nov 21, 2008)

Mister Moo said:


> Prefer "i-pout", soggy boy?


:r

Oh great now Mister Poo - [ahem] I mean Mister Moo is gettin' in on it


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## mclayton (Dec 21, 2008)

A pipe cleaner not being able to pass and gurgling isn't just misalignment; it could also be one of those stupid "condensors" or "metal filters" that are supposed to cool the smoke down and stop bits from flying into your mouth. However, they are also known to make the smoke wetter (well, think about it..condensor...condensation..same root, same idea. the smoke cools down into water drops, and thus "cools" down). A pipe with a condensor will almost always gurgle, unless you've simply adapted your style to meet the condensors standards.

I took the opposite root, and simply removed it. I saved it, just in case, but I took it out. Much better smoke now too; I love the little ironies in life sometimes.


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## DubintheDam (Jun 5, 2007)

some pipes just smoke wet regardless of any logic, dry your baccy more, slow down the puffing and soak up with plenty of pipe cleaners, like 3 or 4...a hassle I know but so it goes. I do like stouts solution and I think it would solve wettness problems on a couple of my tappered bowls that smoke wet...but I'm a "just adjust to the situation" kinda guy!...dub


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

DubintheDam said:


> some pipes just smoke wet regardless of any logic, dry your baccy more, slow down the puffing and soak up with plenty of pipe cleaners, like 3 or 4...a hassle I know but so it goes. I do like stouts solution and I think it would solve wettness problems on a couple of my tappered bowls that smoke wet...but I'm a "just adjust to the situation" kinda guy!...dub


You just have to have greater resolve than the pipe. Finally, and I mean finally!, I got the last four of my gurglers corrected last week. One small step for man...................


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## imperial Stout (Nov 21, 2008)

... so I tried the mud technique: GURGLE!

I am able to get a pipe cleaner in now though which helps deal with the problem.


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## mclayton (Dec 21, 2008)

imperial Stout said:


> ... so I tried the mud technique: GURGLE!
> 
> I am able to get a pipe cleaner in now though which helps deal with the problem.


Maybe put it down for a few days or skip its turn in the rotation?


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

imperial Stout said:


> ... so I tried the mud technique: GURGLE!
> 
> I am able to get a pipe cleaner in now though which helps deal with the problem.


Well common sense tells us a low heal causes gurgle so at least you got that problem fixed. Now you have to find what else is adding to your gurgle. Does your airway line up where it leaves the shank and enters the stem? Have you used a pipecleaner to determine where your moisture is gathering in the airway? Does it whistle or wheeze at the button or tenon?


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